Projected environmental and public health benefits of extended-interval dosing: an analysis of pembrolizumab use in a US national health system
Health care is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change and public health harms. Changes are needed to improve the environmental sustainability of health-care practices, but such changes should not sacrifice patient outcomes or financial sustainability. Alternative dosing strategies that reduce the frequency with which specialty drugs are administered, without sacrificing patient outcomes, are an attractive possibility for improving environmental sustainability. We sought to inform environmentally sustainable cancer care by estimating and comparing the environmental and financial effects of alternative, clinically equivalent strategies for pembrolizumab administration.
health care, greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, public health, Environmental sustainability
Bryant, A. K., Lewy, J. R., Bressler, R. D., Chopra, Z., Gyori, D. J., Bazzell, B. G., Moeller, J. A., Jacobson, S. I., Fendrick, A. M., Kerr, E. A., Ramnath, N., Green, M. D., Hofer, T. P., Vaishnav, P., & Strohbehn, G. W. (2024). Projected environmental and public health benefits of extended-interval dosing: An analysis of pembrolizumab use in a US national health system. *The Lancet Oncology, 25*(6), 802-810. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00200-6